The Tigers were the pre-season World Series favorites a year ago following their blockbuster acquisition of Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Instead, they finished dead last in the AL Central with a record better than only the Orioles and Mariners in the American League. What went wrong was exemplified by the performance of the two young stars they acquired from Florida. Cabrera led the AL’s fourth-best offense in hits (180), doubles (36), homers (37), RBIs (127), slugging (.537), and OPS+ (130). Willis made just seven starts, posting a 9.38 ERA, 2.21 WHIP, and walking nearly twice as many men as he struck out as the Tigers went 2-5 in the games he started, with one of the wins coming in a game in Willis left after hyperextending his knee prior to getting an out.

Just two years after they reached the World Series on the strength of a young pitching staff that was the American League’s stingiest, the Tigers allowed more runs than all but three team’s in baseball (the Rangers, Pirates, and Orioles). How did that happen? To begin with that “young” pitching staff also included Kenny Rogers, who after an injury-shortened 2007, finally reached the end of the line at age 43 last year, posting a 5.70 ERA. The 2006 rotation also included Nate Robertson, who simply had a career year that year, his only season with an ERA better than league average. Last year, Robertson’s ERA swelled to 6.35.

Perhaps most significantly, that 2006 staff leaned too heavily on three very young arms. Joel Zumaya, who posted a 1.94 ERA in 83 1/3 relief innings at age 21 in 2006, has suffered several fluke injuries since, including one brought on by an excess of Guitar Hero, and a major shoulder injury sustained while trying to move his belongings out of the way of the California wild fires a couple of years ago. More tellingly, Jeremy Bonderman threw 214 innings at age 23 in 2006 (and 749 major league innings from ages 20 to 23) and hasn’t been healthy since he elbow gave out in July of 2007.

Then there’s tonight’s starter, Justin Verlander. A college product who spent just one year in the minors before throwing 186 innings and winning the AL Rookie of the Year award for the 2006 pennant winners, Verlander has had no problem taking the ball since, and was even better in his sophomore season, when he threw 201 2/3 innings at age 24, but he’s increasingly losing his ability to determine where the ball is going. Verlander led the majors in wild pitches and hit batsmen in 2007, and last year saw his walk rate increase by nearly one free pass per nine innings while his ERA swelled to 4.84. So far this year, his walk rate is 3.9 BB/9, the same as it was a year ago, and he’s getting lit up as he’s allowed six or more runs in three of his four starts and opposing batters are hitting .303/.370/539 against him. Verlander still has his high-90s heater, but he can’t throw anything else for a strike.

Fortunately for the Tigers, Dave Dombrowski is a very good general manager. Last February, he acquired Armando Galarraga from the Rangers for marginal minor league outfielder Michael Hernandez. Galarraga emerged as the Tigers’ best starter last year, posting a 3.73 ERA in 28 starts and a pair of relief appearances. This offseason, he traded promising young slugger Matt Joyce to the Rays for Edwin Jackson, the still-just-25-year-old former Dodgers prospect who had a breakout season last year and has thus far this year been second only to Galarraga among Tigers starters (Jackson will start tomorrow’s game). In 2007, Dombrowski ponied up to sign Scott Boras client and New Jersey native Rick Porcello after drafting him in the first round. After a strong showing at high-A last year, Porcello, who will match-up with Joba Chamberlain on Wednesday, has lept right into the big-league rotation, bouncing Robertson to the bullpen (though one does have to wonder if Porcello’s quick advancement is once again too much too soon for a talented young Tiger starter). Just like that, the Tigers have a new rotation that will take what it can get from the currently disabled Bonderman (sore elbow) and Willis (anxiety disorder a.k.a. Steve Blass disease).

Better yet, Dombrowski has upgraded his defense by replacing the unproductive big-name veterans from last year’s team with young, inexpensive glovemen. The logic there is that if the players at those positions are going to help at the plate, they should at least help in the field. So gone is 33-year-old free agent shortstop Edgar Renteria ($9 million, 84 OPS+, -0.9 UZR in 2008) and in is slick fielding Adam Everett on a one-year, $1 million deal. Gone is 40-year-old designated hitter Gary Sheffield (90 OPS+ in 2008), so that the still-productive 33-year-old Carlos Guillen (114 OPS+, but a -2.9 UZR at third base in 2008) can DH while the slick-fielding Brandon Inge moves back to third base. That also frees up left field for the speedy 26-year-old Josh Anderson, a late-spring acquisition from the Braves. Before all of that, Dombrowski dumped now-37-year-old catcher and impending free agent Ivan Rodriguez ($13 million, 87 OPS+ in 2008) at last year’s deadline, and has since replaced him with 29-year-old former Rangers prospect Gerald Laird via an offseason trade that sent two marginal minor league pitchers to Texas.

Laird is the only one in that group likely to provide a boost to the offense, and his contributions are likely to be more than undermined by those of Anderson, Everett, and Inge (despite the last’s hot start), but the improvement in team defense is significant enough to have been worth the exchange. Only three AL teams (including the Yankees) were worse than the Tigers at turning balls in play into outs last year. So far this year, only five AL teams are better at it than Detroit. Similarly, the Tigers have gone from being the fourth-worst run-preventers in the AL last year, are the sixth best in the league this year, and they still have the fourth-best offense in the junior circuit. All of that has them sitting on top of the AL Central with a 10-8 record.

The Yankees send CC Sabathia to the hill tonight looking to rebound from his messy 6 2/3 innings in last Wednesday’s 14-inning monstrosity. CC has walked a total of 14 men against eight strikeouts in three of his four starts (in the other he walked nine and struck out six). His season totals of 14 walks and 14 strikeouts are an exact match for his totals through four starts a year ago. Last year, he flipped the switch in his fifth start (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K in Kansas City) and never looked back. The Yankees hope the fifth time’s the charm this year as well.

Johnny Damon said his left shoulder “hurts all over” and he wouldn’t mind a cortisone shot. But he doesn’t want to get any tests done. “I can’t see any good coming of that,” he said. “I’d rather play with some pain.”

Ha! I watched it now ... I'm famous! I'm glad I'm not the only one with that opinion of CC, and it's humorously gratifying to hear someone talking about what "The Hawk" says ... Suddenly the faux-seriousness of my handle takes on a new dimension.

There is talk at Lohud about a post at RAB that talks about our pitchers ERA when Po catches vs. Molina. We know Molina is much better at throwing and blocking the plate (did you see Po on that steal of home?), but it is harder to qualify how important calling a game is, and how Po vs. Molina compare.

If Matsui is done, I wonder if splitting the C duties, with PO DH'ing when Molina catches might have some merrit. It would also help preserve Po for the next 2 years.

As much as I hate Molina's bat, I'm more upset when we lose Po's bat, as opposed to Molina in the 8 hole.

UPDATE, 7:15 p.m.: Don’t know if television showed this or not. But when Damon made a throw to second to try to get Polanco, he spun around afterward and appeared to be in pain. He also was flexing his shoulder throughout the rest of the inning.

except Adam Dunn struck out about every 5 plate appearances in his year at AAA and was on 40 HR pace.

right now, you're looking at Rob Deer level whiffery, without the power.

Obviously it's a SSS, but I can't see the Yankees wanting to promote him until he gets the k rate under control (and actually, i think either he'll lower the k rate, or his performance will begin to suffer in response)

It really seems as if the "personality" of this team changed as soon as Mo blew that save (kind of like the 2004 ALCS). How a team comes back after a tough loss is often an indicator of how good they are. The Yankees are not exactly inspiring confidence right now.

[34] I can't help thinking that the Yankees are planning to call up Jackson this year. Otherwise, they'd have traded for Cameron or something. Gardner really hadn't proved anything at the Major League Level, and Melky has provided three years of steadily declining production.

[35] Yeah, along those lines, I find myself reminding those lauding Toronto's start to their season, that they and Texas are the only teams in the AL to have not faced a team from their respective divisions yet.

Odd, but true... and probably meaningful too, especially where Toronto is concerned...

_____________has had a tough season. It is hard to believe____________has such poor numbers. _____________has good sfuff but he has trouble putting it all together consistently. Tonight,_____________has it all going against the Yankees. sigh. some old song and dance.

I really liked seeing Tex go towards the pitcher on that play. It made it all the easier to throw Inge out. Very "Mattinglyesque" (sorry again Alex)...

There has got to be some way in this modern era of medicine and genetics such that we can splice Po's bat onto Molina, or Molina's game-calling brain into Po, or both! If we could combine them, they would yield Johnny Bench!

Really too bad about the tater but the Yanks were liable to lose this anyway. In fact I would have been okay with it, cause Verlander is pitching his ass off. But 4 ER (and counting) is really disappointing.

With a potentially unsettled Hughes going tomorrow and the Angels coming in this weekend, things could get ugly fast and the Girardi job watch might be on. I am starting to think this team needs a major jolt...if they keep sleepwalking, it better come sooner than later.

Is it really a coincidence that A Rod disappeared right when he was at his most embarrassing? It was the perfect time to force the issue - "Yeah, you're bummed about the steroids and grossed out by me and Madonna, and me and my reflection? See how bummed and grossed out you are when I'm not out there mashing for your team!"

He probably drugged Cody Ransom to ensure his presence would have been missed even by his most vocal detractors. When he sees a bottom four of Swisher, Cabrera, Molina and Pena in the lineup, his heart soars.

I don't blame Cashman for this. It's not his fault A Rod and Nady got hurt. Sabathia was a sure thing. (He still oughtta pan out, no?) ... Burnett hasn't been the problem. The bullpen has been over-extended by the underperforming starting pitching.

This is the second time the Yankees have led of an inning with two straight hits and then not so much as advanced a runner. The inability of this team to cash in on its opportunities is becoming epidemic...it was the same disease that inflicted last year's team as well.

Well, coming in late. Back under .500 it looks like, just like last year, and the year before and....Sigh, why is this team so unprepared, underachieving, and so infuriating to watch? DIgging yet another April hole to spend the rest of the year climbing out of

[111] Fans worship him, they built a shrine outside the stadium to him.
Ownership don'tt..they resent his popularity and his blunt criticisms of how backwards the league is in terms of promotion/marketing, etc..

In all seriousness though, I can't see Girardi having an axe hanging over him when a) his best player is yet to have an at-bat, and b) his number 2 starter has to decided he would like to start pitching blindfolded. If this team is still scuffling around .500 on June 15th then yeah, but not before that.

[141] You can't wait until mid-June again...all of the same problems from last year have carried over to this season. At some point, a change become necessary. If the Yankees don't turn it around by this time next week, I think it's time to change the manager.

[144] Believe me, I'm not the most patient one in the world, far from it. I just have a tough time saying "Sorry Joe, I know that you don't have your 3 hitter, your second starter, your 8th inning man, and half of your RF platoon, but we think its time for a change"

[142] Since the Yanks haven't replaced A Rod with such a player, it's not a legitimate argument. Scott Brosius would also have been sorely missed with this lot taking his place. Most 3rd basemen would.

And the Yankee offense hasn't been bad at all. Yeah they got shut down tonight, but the guy was pitching his ass off. It happens. Last night they just gave up I think. Anyway they obviously don't need A Rod to not get big hits for them; they've got that covered.

[145] Maybe Mattingly...maybe Showalter...maybe Pena. The bottom line is you can't keep playing mediocre baseball. It seems like this team wilts under any kind of adversity, and that ultimately reflects on the manager. If the Yankees don't break out soon and the team does nothing to shake things up, we'll be looking at another summer hovering around .500.

[146] You are leaving out last year though. It's not like Girardi has only managed 20 games. Also, in Boston, Francona's #3 hitter would be better off injured, one of his top starters in on the DL, his SS has been hurt, etc. and yet they found a way to pull the rug out from under the Yankees and start off hot (after a tough 2-6 start).

[149] I'm not absolving Girardi of his (partial) responsibility for last year, but that was barely a playoff caliber team going into the season and thats on Cashman. Once Wang and Posada went down it moved from being a borderline team to a not very good team. And they still managed to win 89 games for everything that went wrong.

Lets just say for sake of argument that the Yankees go 3-7 over the next 10 and Girardi gets canned. At which time A-Rod comes back and starts doing A-Rod things (the good things), Wang gets straightened out and becomes at the very least a respectable starter, and Bruney comes off the DL prompting the Yankees to go on a 15-5 run. Would that mean that the replacement manager was somehow doing something Girardi wasn't?

Of course it's better to have Alex than not to have Alex, but it really doesn't seem to me that his absence is the reason we're losing. Leaving aside the pitching, we strand way too many runners. And Tex, our number three hitter, has done nothing. Robbie's providing plenty of production to make up for Alex' absence. You bring back Alex and obviously it will make a difference (especially if he's protecting Tex, presumably), but there are enough bats on this team as is for them not to be a game under .500.